Home  Entertainment Reviews "Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini
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"Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini |
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Written by D.S. Crafts
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last updated Wednesday, February 28, 2007, at 14:16:58
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An Italian opera set in Japan staged in the blatantly Southwestern-style Kimo theater. But then, isn’t Albuquerque the very heart and soul of multiculturalism?
On Saturday night, Opera Southwest opened its run of Puccini’s "Madama Butterfly." One beautifully decorated set serves as backdrop to the provocative magic of the opera as colorful costumes fill the stage.
The story by John Luther Long and adapted for the stage by David Belasco, was always intended to be controversial. A former geisha girl, the 15-year-old Cio-Cio-San, falls obsessively in love with an American naval officer. After marrying him, she calls herself Madame Butterfly, choosing to prove her devotion by abandoning not only her religion, in favor of an "American God," but also her family.
Soprano Juyeon Song, in the title role, gives a sympathetic portrayal full of dramatic gesture. Hers is not a big voice, but within the confines of the KiMo, it comes across as emotive and expressive. And of course she has the added advantage of actually being Asian (notwithstanding that opera casting should never be based on appearance). If a bit uneven in the first act, the voice hit its stride impressively in the second act aria Un bel di (One fine day), the signature melody of the opera in which she declares to her maid Suzuki (Sarah Blaze) she has no doubt of her husband’s eventual return.
Tenor John Pickle, a late addition to the cast, delivers a persuasively swaggering Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. In his chest-thumping oration in the first act, Dovunque al mundo (Throughout the world) he succinctly elucidates an American arrogance toward other cultures, unfortunately more than relevant today. The world is his stomping ground and all its inhabitants, regardless of their quaint habits and customs, his for the taking. Pickle and Song combine nicely in the sensuous love duet which concludes the first act.
As Sharpless, the facilitating bureaucrat with at least a smidgeon of a conscience, baritone Ron Loyd offers a warm, even comforting voice as he with his pandering, ineffectual disapproval suggests to the young girl that the marriage may not be all she believes it to be. The supporting players too contribute significantly. Paul Bower as both the Imperial Commissioner and Prince Yamadori, and Marc Mouchet as the religious zealot The Bonze, are both singers from whom I could easily hear more.
Conductor Michael Borowitz kept the music moving along always at a responsive pace, providing solid support for the singers and leading an effective reading of the instrumental interlude to the final scene, influenced by the music of Debussy and some of the most interesting music of the opera.
The production repeats Tuesday and Friday (Feb. 14 and 17) at 8 p.m. and, as always, supertitles are provided.
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg was made into a TV program for the PBS network winning an Emmy for Best Music. His opera La Llorona, a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya will be presented by the National Hispanic Cultural Center in October, 2008. In 2007 the New Mexico Symphony commissioned him to write the commemoration piece for its 75th anniversary. Collaborating with cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, he created the satiric/comic opera Too Much Coffee Man which premiered in 2006. His music has been recorded by the Kiev and Czech Philharmonics and the Prague Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra for the Masterworks of the New Era series available on the ERM label. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from operas) have been released on the BACAT label.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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